Xenosaga's Future Discussed

Namco Bandai, in an interview examining the history and future of the Xenosaga RPG series, revealed that the third installment, due out near the end of the month, is intended to be a mixed bag incorporating the many requests of fans and the creator's own ideas, ultimately ensuing in what the company perceives as the perfect handling of the game's mechanics and storyline.

Like past installments, Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra is said to feature a large volume of cutscenes; noticably more than Episode II, but quite a bit less than the visually overloaded Episode I. According to Namco Bandai, this "middle ground" helps to produce the best pacing to balance the story and gameplay.

It's been additionally confirmed once again that Xenosaga Episode III indeed marks the end of main character Shion Uzuki's story arc, yet no word was given on whether the upcoming game will introduce a new one. Interestingly enough, although the company previously announced that the newest title may also be the final chapter of the series itself, very little was declared in regards to that prospect during the interview.

The Xenosaga series was at one time expected to last up to six installments, but because of lackluster sales of the first two games the length was shortened down to three. Fortunately, Namco Bandai currently appears to be on the side of fans by seemingly allowing the series one more shot at success - an outcome that should be determined by the overall sales of Episode III. As the company recently beamed, "if reactions are good - who knows!"

Aside from the main series, the company remains undecided on whether any of the three Japanese-exclusive titles - Xenosaga Freaks, Xenosaga: Pied Piper, and Xenosaga I & II DS - will ever make their way to the West. However, the company has divulged plans to put together an English rendering of a movie on the Japanese Xenosaga website as a means to further illustrate the events which took place during the single year between Episode II and Episode III.

Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra is set to launch in North America on August 29th.

Source: RPGamer